The present invention relates to a communication system and, more particularly, to a communication system which frequently detects the state of each communication terminal to and notifies the user of a given communication terminal of it upon detecting that a predetermined communication other terminal is set in a designated state.
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 9-139772, filed May 29, 1997, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In recent years, a known mobile communication system is constituted by portable information terminals (e.g., a cellular telephone, a PHS terminal: Personal Handy Phone System terminal, a pager, and a PDA: Personal Digital Assistants) the users carry to transmit/receive speech data and the like to/from another terminal such as a general home telephone, and by a base station connected to a communication line such as an ISDN line to communicate with the portable information terminals and connect them to the communication line.
In this mobile communication system, a public base station connected to a public switched telephone network and set indoors or outdoors at an unspecified location, a private base station connected to a switching unit (to be referred to as a PBX hereinafter) placed in a public facility (e.g., an office), or a private master unit set in a house and functioning as the master unit of a portable information terminal is used as a base station. The public base station, private base station and private master unit are referred to a master unit hereinafter. The portable information terminal (to be also referred to as a subsidiary unit hereinafter) is connected to the communication line through the public base station, the private base station, or the private master unit to communicate with the other party.
The portable information terminal is driven by a secondary battery or the like and used as a portable unit. In the service area of the master unit, the portable information terminal is connected to the communication line through the master unit connected via a wireless channel so that the portable information terminal can communicate with another terminal. Outside the service area of the master unit, the portable information terminal is connected to the communication line through an outdoor base station connected via a wireless channel to communicate with another terminal. Information to be transmitted/received by the portable information terminal includes speech data, text data, image data, and the like.
In the conventional mobile communication system, when a user wants contact from the other party when he/she has arrived at or left a certain place or he/she is set in a predetermined state, the user depends on the memory of the other party. If the other party forgets, no contact can be made. In this case, it is troublesome that the user must request the other party to make a call. The above problem, moreover, is not limited to a mobile communication system, but may also occur in a general communication system.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a communication system which can detect that a predetermined communication terminal is set in a designated state, and which can notify a user of another communication terminal of the designated state of the predetermined communication terminal.
In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system which performs communication between terminals connected to a communication network via a wireless channel or a wired channel under the control of a management station for managing the communication network, wherein one of the terminals generates calling information and predetermined state information for notifying a state of the other terminal and transmits the pieces of information to the management station, and the management station stores the calling information of the terminal, which has transmitted the pieces of information, and the predetermined state information for notifying the state of the other terminal, and when the state of the other terminal equals the predetermined state information, calls the terminal on the basis of the calling information.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system which performs communication between terminals connected to a communication network via a wireless channel or a wired channel, wherein one of the terminals generates calling information and predetermined state information for notifying a state of the other terminal and transmits the pieces of information to the other terminal, and the other terminal stores the transmitted calling information and the transmitted predetermined state information, and when a self state equals the predetermined state information, calls the terminal on the basis of the stored calling information.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the state of the other terminal may preferably be notified to the terminal using one of character data and speech data in notification based on the calling information.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the transmitted calling information may preferably contain a caller number of a call set-up message, and the predetermined state information may contain data inserted in a subaddress area of the call set-up message.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the predetermined state may preferably contain a state wherein the other terminal enters or leaves a predetermined area.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the predetermined area preferably may be a service area of a public base station set on the communication network to connect the terminal to the communication network via a wireless channel, or an electromagnetic wave reachable range of a master unit connected to the communication network and having a function of connecting at least a terminal which has been registered in advance to the communication network via a wireless channel.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the predetermined state may preferably be a predetermined time.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication apparatus connected to a communication network via a wireless channel or a wired channel, comprising storage means for storing other party information sent from the communication network and notification information containing a predetermined state for notifying a state of the communication apparatus itself, and means for, when a current state of the communication apparatus equals the predetermined state stored in the storage means, notifying the state on the basis of the other party information.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the notification means may preferably notify the state of the communication apparatus to the other party using one of character data and speech data on the basis of the other party information.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the other party information sent through the communication network may preferably contain a caller number of a call set-up message, and the predetermined state information for notifying the state of the communication apparatus itself may contain data inserted in a subaddress area of the call set-up message.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the predetermined state may preferably contain a state wherein the communication apparatus enters or leaves a predetermined area.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the predetermined area may preferably be a service area of a public base station set on the communication network to connect the communication apparatus to the communication network via a wireless channel, or an electromagnetic wave reachable range of a master unit connected to the communication network and having a function of connecting at least a communication apparatus which has been registered in advance to the communication network via a wireless channel.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the predetermined state may preferably be a predetermined time.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the notification information may preferably further contain a notification method, and the notification means may notify the state to the other party on the basis of the notification method.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention.
The objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinbefore.